Margareth S. Aritonang and Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – Lawmakers had a heated hearing with Dipo Alam at the House of Representatives on Monday, contentiously questioning the Cabinet secretary over his allegations that lawmakers have engaged in a "massive theft of state funds".
Dipo told members of House Commission II overseeing home affairs that lawmakers, local legislative councillors and politicians appointed to government posts had conspired to fix many of the 1,600 proposed budgets that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had approved.
"A few of them [the corrupt] are civil servants, but most are members of political parties [with government appointments]. This morning, the KPK [Corruption Eradication Commission] also told me that 65 of those who have been implicated in corruption are affiliated with political parties," Dipo said.
"This is a serious issue. You must address this, because you must respect those who have voted for you," the Cabinet secretary added.
Several irate lawmakers then ganged up on Dipo. "Enough. We've got it. You don't have to insult us like that. The House has its own mechanism to deal with its members," lawmaker Azhar Romli from the Golkar Party said.
As Dipo began to respond, lawmaker Akbar Faisal of the People's Conscience Party (Hanura) cut him off in mid-sentence.
"We learn from the media that the three ministries that you have reported to the KPK include the Agriculture Ministry, the Defense Ministry and the Trade Ministry. Is this true? Can you identify the type of collusion that happened in the ministries?" Akbar said.
Other Commission II lawmakers then leapt into the fracas, questioning the Cabinet secretary's intentions in filing his complaint with the KPK. Some even accused Dipo of exceeding his authority by reporting his allegations to the commission.
Dipo told investigators at the KPK earlier this month that lawmakers and officials from three ministries had conspired to manipulate budget allocations. Dipo told lawmakers at the hearing that the officials and legislators whom he reported to the commission were not alone in their malfeasance, alleging that there was a large number of similar cases.
Dipo said that some of the officials and lawmakers that he reported were implicated in ongoing high-profile graft scandals, such as the one involving the construction of a sports center in Hambalang, West Java and the scandal involving the procurement of medical equipment at the Health Ministry, as well as previously unrevealed scandals surrounding the procurement of weapons by the Defense Ministry.
"They are only a few incidents of the massive and blatant collusion involving state officials and lawmakers. I am only doing what I'm obliged to do in revealing corrupt practices. It's the job of the law enforcement agencies to investigate them," Dipo said.
Separately, Heru Lelono, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's special aide for information affairs, rebuked Dipo, saying that the Cabinet secretary should have not gone public with his allegations.
"The KPK can receive the reports without so much publicity. Don't trigger debate by making it public. After learning from the media about the reports, some ministers appeared uncomfortable. If they [the KPK] face problems from the reports, they can talk to the President," Heru told reporters at the State Palace.
Heru said that Dipo had decided to go alone with his accusations. "He never discussed his plans with us."